South Pacific: Ep 8

Last week's episode was a great one! I'm happy that Ozzy's sacrifice worked out the way that it did, because I hope that it will inspire future contestants to take the same risks that he did. Having more people volunteer themselves for RI would definitely up the awesome level of Survivor.

Watching the episode I felt like Ozzy & Cochran were facing similar trials in their strongest areas. Ozzy had to face a physical trial & Cochran had to face a psychological trial. Ozzy obviously won his physical battle (although he lost in the acting category), but did Cochran win his battle?

At first I thought he failed, but on further reflection I actually think he succeeded. I certainly believe that Upolu manipulated him somewhat, but at the same time he's smart enough to be fully cognizant of the consequences of his decisions. I think he realized that he didn't have a chance to get too far with his current alliance, even if he made it through the random rock drawing, which wasn't a guarantee. No one on his tribe really liked him except for Dawn. Upolu wasn't just offering him security at that tribal, but also a chance for a fresh start. A fresh start in an alliance that kept Edna over Mikayla no less! So, ultimately I think it was a good decision for him, and an even better decision for my team, since this also put Coach into a dominant position! Hopefully not too dominant though...

The Standings: 

Team Top 3: Moon - 69 pts
1. Ozzy (34 pts)
2. Sophie (18 pts)
3. Jim (17 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 59 pts
1. Albert (18 pts)
2. Rick (18 pts)
3. Dawn (23 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 57 pts
1. Cochran (17 pts) 
[2. Elyse (12 pts)]
3. Coach (28 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 47 pts
[1. Mikayla (13 pts)]

[2. Christine (18 pts)]

3. Edna (16 pts)

Team ICRWYNISTB: Dachui - 43 pts
1. Keith (17 pts)
2. Brandon (18 pts)
[3. Stacey (8 pts)]

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 26 pts
[1. Papa Bear (7 pts)]
2. Whitney (17 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]


Power Rankings: 

1. Top 3 - Ozzy's position is pretty perilous right now - Upolu+1 knows that he doesn't have a hidden idol anymore, and he's their biggest threat by far. He needs to either win the next immunity challenge or find another hidden idol, if there's another one even out there to be found! Otherwise he's going to RI. Sophie's looking solid though, and Jim is fully capable of making moves to stay alive, so this team is still a serious threat.

2. Baseball, Belts & Bibles - Sigh. I was really excited about Dawn's support of Cochran - what she said really was meaningful & heartfelt. She was about to be my favorite player... and then she took it all back! That was a really bad decision for a lot of reasons. But most importantly, she's now in the minority & is one of the strongest females left which will make her a target. Rick is just baggage at this point, but Albert has a good understanding of how this game works, and I'm excited to see what he'll do in the coming weeks.

3. Dungeons & Dragons - When the Bullet Dodger & Coach met for the first time it felt like a culmination of so many of the plot lines from this season. I could tell that this meeting was going to be one of the most pivotal moments in the entire game. What I didn't expect was for Coach to own Cochran so thoroughly and quickly through that one interaction. But he hit Cochran fast & in all the right places (that's what she said): he touched on being an outsider, having the chance to be empowered, and his own alliance being completely unified. And then he let the others finish up the wooing. The way they operated almost seemed professional.

4. ICRWYNISTB - Dachui is in trouble with Keith being sent to RI. I think he could win a few challenges there, but the competitors sent to RI now will be a lot stronger than the pre-merge group, so he has his work cut out for him! Brandon is still crazy, although I hope that he keeps up the role of being Cochran's protector. I think that would be a positive symbiotic relationship for both of them, and actually could make the game pretty interesting if it develops.

5. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife - With only wimpy Edna left in a merged game, Bag can at best hope for maybe 15 more points for the rest of the season. A.k.a., Bag = no chance.

6. Country Bears - Courtney's team was already in huge trouble, but now it's worse. Country Bears can be officially considered out of this competition.